Outstanding Professors and Researchers (EB-12 or EB-1B)

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The Outstanding Professor and Researcher visa category is reserved for professors and/or researchers who are recognized internationally as “outstanding” in a specific academic field.

To qualify, the foreign national must have a sponsor and must provide the following:

Offer of employment from a prospective United States employer:

A tenure/tenured-track position or a term of indefinite or unlimited duration within a university or institution of higher education to teach in the academic field;

A comparable position with a university or institute of higher education to conduct research; or

A comparable position to conduct research with a private employer. The employer must demonstrate that it employs at least 3 full-time researchers, and has achieved documented accomplishment in the academic field.

Evidence that the foreign national has at least 3 years of experience in teaching and/or research in the academic area. Experience gained while working on an advanced degree may be counted so long as you had control of the class taught, or the research is recognized as outstanding.

Additionally, USCIS established a set of criteria to determine whether you are recognized as outstanding. In order to qualify, the foreign national must provide at least 2 of the following:

Documentation of the foreign national’s receipt of major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement in the academic field;

Documentation of the foreign national’s membership in associations which require outstanding achievement of their members;

Published material in professional publications written by others about the applicant’s work;

Evidence of the foreign national’s participation, either individually or on a panel, as a judge of the work of others;

Evidence of the foreign national’s original scientific or scholarly research contributions to the academic field;

Evidence of the foreign national’s authorship of scholarly books or articles in the academic field.

** If these standards do not readily apply, the petitioner may submit comparable evidence to establish the foreign national’s eligibility.

SGG Immigration prepares Outstanding Professor and Researcher petitions for universities and institutions of higher education throughout the United States. We also have extensive experience working with private companies in various fields, ranging from startups to multinational corporations in biomedical engineering, semiconductor, telecommunications, and other fields. SGG Immigration has and continues to provide assistance to biologists, chemists, physicists, astronomers, mathematicians, economists, and other fields. We also provide assistance with consular processing issues such as complex visa applications, SEVIS requirements, and security/background checks.